Broken
by My Crushed Candy Heart
Summary: I always knew there was something wrong with him. This just proved it. The day Naruto's parents died. The day he started living with me. The day he became "crazy." That was the day he had his first psychotic break. The first day I became his fix.


**Prologue**

**The Break**

I'm a horrible friend, aren't I? My very best friend's parents just died, and all I can do is think, _how ironic_. Just yesterday, they'd left him with my family so they could go on a business trip. They said not to worry, that they'd come back. Naruto's worries had vanished with this reassurement. Then we got the phone call. The one from the police saying they'd found the bodies of Kushina and Minato Namikaze, both dead at the scene. Apparently, someone had cut the breaks in their car and it had went off a railing and shot straight into a wooded area, like a rocket. I'm 10, so I know what it means when someone says that a person died. Naruto, on the other hand, is only 7. No one had ever bothered explaining death to him, since no one thought it to be necessary. Che, bet they regret that decision now.

It had taken 3 hours before he finally understand that they were never, ever, coming back. That's when he broke. Now, I mean he _broke_. It was like his entire being just _shattered_. You could tell it sunk in because he suddenly collapsed on our kitchen floor, gasping like he couldn't breath. His hands had covered his ears and his eyes had been wide open, like he couldn't close them despite how much pain he was obviously in. No one could get near him, except for me. If anyone else tried, he just curled up until his body was so compact it was unnatural and scream. They tried over and over before they realized I was the only one getting near him.

The doctors diagnosed it as being like a combination of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (whatever that is), and shock. They said that they've never seen anything like it before, so the best they could do is describe it through 3 sicknesses. Heh, I always knew Naruto was weird. Tomorrow's the funeral, since my parents thought it would be better to bury them now, before the bodies could begin to "deteriorate." I don't know what that means, but I think it means they'll fall apart or something. I wonder what he'd do if that happened. They said that Kushina and Minato had left Naruto to them, so from now on this is his house. He can't be left alone though. If he does, he breaks again. More specifically, if _I_leave him alone, he breaks. So he's living in my room and clinging to me all the time. Literally. He walks behind me, holding onto my shirt wherever I go. Itachi won't stop teasing me about it either. I wonder how long he can last like this. He has to let go sometime.

* * *

It's time to go to the funeral now. It's really sunny outside, so Naruto sticks his face into the back of my shirt to shield his eyes. We climb into the car, and even in our seats he doesn't let go. My mom said to leave it go. Let him cling if he wants, because that means it's what he needs to get through this. I think that means he'll break again if he lets go. I don't want him to break. So, he can cling as long as he wants. It doesn't really bother me anyways. It's kinda cute, in a way.

When we get out, the whole service is a blur of faces and "I'm sorry"s directed at Naruto. Now we're walking across the grass to where his parents will be buried. The place lets him stand up closer than the others, to say good-bye. Since we're a package deal now, I get pulled up too. It's really uncomfortable, standing there with all those eyes staring at us. Watching his parents be covered with dirt. Watching as the cracks began to appear in him. I kept my eyes on him, waiting for the resounding crack in his eyes just before he'll shatter into a bunch of pieces. It's forming, I can tell. It should only be a little longer. Hopefully, he can hold on until the people leave. They don't understand. They'll try and give him medicine, just like that stupid doctor. He's fine, he just needs some tape to stick the pieces back. That's how my mom described it, that I'm the tape that holds him together. So I can't leave him, or the pieces can't stay together.

_Crack_. He slams into the wet grass, his nice clothes getting stained. He's staring at the mounds of dirt that are his parents now and starts shaking. He's still clinging to me, so they vibrate through me too. Then the widening of the eyes, showing him things that may or may not have happened when they died. His hands covering his ears, trying to block out my mom's voice when she told him what happened. The sound of what he thinks their screams would have been like. I'm the only one who knows why he reacts this way, they eyes, the ears. He told me. The screaming**-- **being so far inside his head that he thinks the bad guys came back for him. I know he won't stop until someone brings him back to the real world, and he picked me to be that person. So I get down on the ground and hug him. Mom's gonna hate cleaning out these stains. His shivering slows and his breathing evens out. Soon, he's dead weight. Mom said that means someone fell asleep.

I look up at the people, seeing the scared and shocked faces of his supposed family. The people that only care about what they can get out of him. Then my mom and Itachi come over and help me to get him off. Soon he's cradled in Itachi's arms and we're walking to the car. I climb in the back again, and Itachi lays him so his head is on my lap. His face looks so different when he sleeps. He doesn't look sad or mad or scared like usual. Not even happy. It's sorta blank. Like he has no feelings. Then I look out the window and see the place where his parents are buried zoom past the window. Soon we're on the main road, and I'm asleep.

**_AN: Okay, this is strange, I know this. Sasuke seems to have a wandering mind too. Maybe even too smart for a 10 year old. But remember, him and Itachi are, like, super smart. Plus, ten year olds have really bad focus and sense of atmosphere, so he's gotta be a little scatter brained.I know Naruto barely got explained too. No worries, he gets more development in the next chapter. Well, if you guys like it there will be a next chapter, so please let me know if i should continue. Ja ne~!_**


End file.
